Prescription Drug Mess Will Give You A Headache

HOWARD GOODMAN COMMENTARY

Time was, people looked south of the border in search of illegal drugs.

But now the direction is north. And, instead of a high, people are seeking relief from arthritis, cholesterol and heartburn.

They're scoring Celebrex, Lipitor, Prilosec.

The absurd cost of prescription drugs is spurring a growing underground of Americans to buy their meds from Canada, where government controls hold down the price of U.S.-made drugs.

Technically, it's illegal for Americans to get their prescriptions filled in the Great White North. But authorities mostly look the other way. This year, 2 million packages will enter the U.S. from foreign pharmacies, double the number from 2001, says the FDA.

And, with prices rising 16 percent a year, legislators are riding the groundswell. The Senate passed a bill last month to legalize drug sales from Canada. Some 50 representatives, mostly Democrats, back a similar bill in the House.

"People believe they're being gouged by the drug companies, and they are," says Carol Roberts, the West Palm Beach Democrat who's made drug prices the centerpiece of her campaign against veteran Rep. Clay Shaw, Republican from Fort Lauderdale.

Roberts -- the longtime Palm Beach County commissioner who famously threatened to go to jail to keep recounts going during the 2000 election mess -- stumbled onto the issue this summer. When some editorial writers harrumphed she was condoning lawbreaking, Roberts just pushed the idea harder.

Now a Gainesville newspaper says the cigarillo-smoking former housewife is "enjoying folk-hero status in the tradition of Robin Hood."

Many callers tell of hardships. A West Palm Beach woman, 50, disabled with diabetes, said she and her husband, an 80-year-old with Alzheimer's, have less than $2,000 a month in income -- and their meds eat up almost half of it.

"It's almost impossible to manage," she said.

Anyone can feel the pinch. As I write this, I'm taking antibiotics for a wracking chest cold. My health plan's pretty good, but, even so, I paid $20 for a week's pills. Were I one of the 40 million Americans without health insurance, I'd have been charged $69.59.

So count me among the 54 percent of Americans with "negative views" of pharmaceutical companies, as reported in a recent poll.

Industry spokesmen say high prices are the inevitable result of costly research and development. They say American medicine is actually a bargain and keeps more people healthy than ever.

But the drug makers aren't just slaving away in their lab coats. Last year, they spent a record $2.5 billion on consumer advertising. They paid millions more for sales teams to shower doctors with pitches and samples and promotional goodies -- everything from coffee cups to cruises.

To keep those nightmares at bay, the industry already has given $18 million to politicians this year -- 73 percent to Republicans. That's apart from political advertising. The industry is on course to spend more on political advertising than any group other than the major parties themselves.

Operating through a group called the United Seniors Association, for instance, the companies spent more than $8 million boosting 20 House candidates who favor industry-backed legislation, according to The Wall Street Journal.

One beneficiary was Shaw. The group aired TV ads on his behalf.

It makes for a beautiful picture. The pharmaceutical industry writes a bill. Congressmen and women vote for the bill. The industry rewards them by paying for advertising that congratulates them for voting for the bill.

Please. Hand me an aspirin.

Howard Goodman's column is published Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. He can be reached at hgoodman@sun-sentinel. com or 561-243-6638.